Notes: Well, here I am, back with another chapter. More notes at the end.

I don't have a beta yet; would anyone interested review or PM me?

Chapter 2: Letters and Shopping

July 17, 1991
Hogwarts

Minerva sighed and set the quill to writing out the letters for the new students again. It had finished the Ps just two minutes before, and she hadn't noticed until now that it had stopped writing. It flashed across the parchment, writing the letter and letting her sign it, the spells she had set picking up a supply list and folding both neatly — after the ink had dried, of course. Then they tucked them both in an envelope and addressed it to the student in question before setting it on a stack of envelopes already addressed. Minerva would look through them for any irregularities — in cases of child abuse, this was often what got the ball rolling, so to speak — and then send them on. It was a simple, almost mindless procedure, she thought as she flipped through the Ps.

Then she saw a name that shouldn't be there, couldn't be there, because he was supposed to be dead, and wasn't the address odd? She set it aside to bring up to Albus later.

The headmaster looked at her gravely over his half-moon spectacles, the letter in his hands trembling so slightly it was almost unnoticeable if you didn't know him well. But Minerva knew him since long before the war, and knew that the name on the envelope worried him greatly.

"Minerva, are you certain about this?" he asked, waving the letter gently.

Quietly, she replied, "You know I am, Albus. The quill never lies."

"Yes, yes, of course," he responded absently. "This is actually quite lucky. The dear boy has grown up without much knowledge of the magical world, we must assume, because of this address. We can teach him, and get him to the side of the Light, as is his rightful side."

"But — Albus — what does this mean?" she questioned, gesturing towards the letter with an ink-stained hand.

"The address? It is the address of someone under a Fidelius, of course. Someone who does not want to be found. Send it off with the others, Minerva. We shall see if it is replied to. Now, would you care for a lemon drop?" he asked, eyes back to their normal twinkle.

July 18, 1991
Lestrange Manor

Harry took a deep breath and looked up, searching for approval in his Lord's eyes. It was no use, as he had known since he'd first been taught Occlumency, but his hopes were childish anyway. There would be no room for them at Hogwarts.

Finally, his Lord nodded, once, to signify the end of the training session, and that he could go and have breakfast. Harry bowed and walked back to the manor at just the right pace, not too slow or too fast, to tell his lord he wasn't dawdling, but wasn't running. He had perfected this pace over the ten years he had spent with the dormant Dark Lord.

After the attack on Godric's Hollow, from which the Light side drew the conclusion that somehow Voldemort had tried to cast the Killing Curse on Harry, but failed, sending the house up in flames and killing them both, the Dark Lord had gone dormant, hiding in one of his loyal follower's manors and putting it under the Fidelius Charm. The rest of the world thought the Dark Lord was dead, and had celebrated for days.

Harry had been left with Bellatrix for most of his childhood, trained to become his Lord's heir and spy at Hogwarts. He saw his Lord every six months, where his progress would be tested with one of Bella's devising — approved of by the Dark Lord, of course. It would always be difficult, and Harry would do his best, and his Lord would send him into the manor, and he and Bellatrix would be in the study all day, discussing his results.

Today, however, was the last of them, because he would be going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in September. It didn't matter whether or not he got the letter; he would be going.

"There you are, Harry. I've been looking for you everywhere." And that was Polaris Lestrange, Bella's son, one year younger than Harry. He'd gotten most of the Black family looks and was maturing into them, his hair starting to crimp into waves. Harry only hoped he didn't inherit the legendary Black insanity like his mother. "Mother's starting breakfast in twenty minutes. You'd better hurry."

Harry nodded, and hurried inside, quickly showering and changing into robes that were more appropriate for a breakfast table, with his family crest quietly emblazoned on the collar and the faint green tint to the black accenting his unusual eyes. Running a hand through his wet hair and attempting to get it to lie flat was useless, so he simply opened the door and headed downstairs at an acceptably sedate pace.

The places were set for a simple breakfast, with the creamy white plates minimally decorated with a silver flower border, and the cutlery silver with thin designs of flowers around the edges. As Harry sat down in his place, the house elves brought in Earl Grey tea and simple sugared scones, foods traditionally served at a breakfast before a day of business. Bellatrix must expect his school letter to come today, if she had ordered this breakfast. The next thing brought in would be a fruit salad, probably containing imported red apples as a subtle hint at health, berries for the anticipation of a long and fruitful summer, and plums, as a reminder of the sweetness of life but the stone of hardship as the core of every endeavor. It was a good mixture for the start of school shopping, and would probably be repeated before he left on the train. Then there would be a simple almond — again, imported — flan dusted with sugar, probably, for the platonic love a parent could show a child, or siblings could show each other. Harry always had been good at predicting things with proper knowledge.

Their breakfast had been almost exactly as Harry had predicted, with the substitution of creamy tarte au citron for the almond flan, symbolizing the sour taste of fear on a guardian's tongue when their ward went off to a journey. It was something Harry expected to be served the morning of the first of September, not the day his letter came.

The house elves were just clearing away the dishes when an owl flew through the window, bearing a letter that it dropped at Harry's place. He let his lip curl slightly, showing his distaste at owls with crass enough manners to drop a letter on someone's food rather than getting the attention of a house elf to take the letter to their master. He would have to deal with it all the time at Hogwarts, though, so he supposed it didn't really matter. He smoothed out his face and let out an inaudible sigh through his nose as he picked up the letter and opened it.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Mr Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl no later than July 31.

Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

He frowned slightly, the sides of his mouth pressed down to make barely perceptible dips in his cheeks, then pulled the supply list out from behind the letter itself. It seemed standard enough, and he could not find fault with it. Rodolphus held out a hand, and Harry passed him the papers. He read over them and nodded decisively.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to accompany you without a disguise, as my face is rather well-known in the Wizarding world," Bellatrix said. "We do need to stop by Diagon, though; I need to restock my ingredients stores, and Harry should get some new robes and books for school. What would the other pureblood families think of him if he brought second-hand?"

"My Lord? Do you have any directions for us?" Rodolphus asked.

Lord Voldemort, at the head of the table, said quietly, "I think, dear Bella, that you should wear a disguise, and disguise our boy as well, so people don't recognize him. Nothing body-shaping, of course, or his robes won't fit him quite right, but change his face. And do something about that hair."

Bella nodded and reached for her wand.

Twenty minutes of preparation later found Bellatrix, Harry, and Polaris in front of the brick wall to Diagon Alley, all three of them disguised as an ordinary mother and her two ordinary boys, all with straight, light brown hair and grey-blue eyes, though Polaris had kept his completely grey.

They made their way down the alley and entered Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions to get Harry fitted for his robes. Bellatrix left to purchase his books at Flourish and Blotts, and Polaris opted to stay and watch Harry being stuck with pins. He found it incredibly amusing, though Harry didn't see what was so funny.

About half an hour later, Madam Malkin called him down from the stool and slid the final robe over his head, waving her wand and directing the needle and thread to sew along the pin lines. By this time, Bellatrix had returned with a stack of books. She asked for another half an hour for them to finish, and directed them to Scrivenshaft's, the stationary store about ten shops down on the right.

They stopped there, and picked up the needed potions ingredients at the Apothecary before going back and getting his school robes. Polaris had gotten bored and his feet hurt, apparently, though Harry though he was acting the part of an annoyed younger brother who wanted to go too.

Their final stop was Ollivander's, the wand store, and Harry tried almost every wand in the shop before finally settling on an ash and unicorn hair wand, twelve and a quarter inches, from an oddly placid unicorn. Harry didn't really like that comparison, and made a face when they left the shop. Polaris proceeded to tease him relentlessly about the girliness of unicorns.

When they returned to the manor, the Dark Lord had retreated to the study. Bellatrix quickly sent him to his room with his new trunk and purchases to pack them away in the best manner possible, and Polaris to the library to continue his studies of the old pureblood lines, before she herself disappeared into the study to discuss Harry's results this morning.

Harry pulled out their purchases and his trunk and started folding clothes. It was an odd day, that Bellatrix would actually go to Diagon Alley instead of just sending a house elf to pick up the necessary items. They could have gotten his measurements and written them down. The wand would be a challenge, but they could have called Ollivander to the— well, all right, not the manor, but some place less public. And Harry could have sworn the glamor on his face flickered a few times.

He sighed and placed the last sock on the right side of the trunk. It was better to just finish packing; Bellatrix would be calling them down to lunch soon, and he had best be finished packing by that time.

More Notes: And now we skip to a few weeks before Harry's eleventh birthday, when he gets his Hogwarts letter (remember, the Dursleys stopped him from getting it until his birthday, but he first got the letter a few weeks before). I'm just guessing at the date, by the way.

About the food: I'm completely making most of the symbolism up, by the way. Apples are for health because "an apple a day keeps the doctor away", and if they were green it would be a wish for bad health. Tarte au citron is an excellent French pastry with a stiff, pie crust-like outer shell and an almost creamy lemon filling. Look it up on the Interwebs and see what you can find.

I'm not sure how to spell Rodolphus, so if anyone knows and can inform me, that would be great.

In this AU, Voldemort never really attempted to kill Harry; he only kidnapped him. This Voldemort is a bit more sane and a bit more smart, and Bella is the same. Bellatrix is more tolerant with children she's raised and can injure with well placed jabs to their weaknesses, while other children are simply tortured with the Cruciatus. Other children annoy her, so she's raised Harry and Polaris to be quiet and respectful and to follow the pureblood mannerisms that she was taught by her parents. Except without the insanity.

Harry, since he's quiet and hasn't gotten so deeply linked to Voldemort, gets a different wand than in canon. Ash is a wood symbolizing balance in the Celtic tree calendar (check my profile for the link), and unicorns are more of a Dark creature than phoenixes, because phoenixes are the ultimate light creature and all that. Plus, he's more quiet, right? And dragons are wild, so unicorn seemed like the best choice.

Why Bellatrix made him pack today instead of the day before: He has the robes for the rest of the summer, so he doesn't need those. I think she just wanted him out of the way with a task to do so he didn't interrupt her meeting with the Dark Lord. Or she's planning something. How should I know? (Oh, wait, I'm the authoress. Oops.)

If these are annoying, I'm sorry. I just didn't want to confuse anyone. I can link them from my profile, I guess….

Again, I will say: I don't have a beta yet; would anyone interested review or PM me?